You might recall almost two years ago when AT&T started working on a sponsored data program. The idea was companies could pay AT&T to exempt certain services from your data cap. AT&T has now rolled out a different take on sponsored data as an app called Data Perks. By completing offers, you earn teeny tiny buckets of data that can be applied to your monthly plan. If you sign up now, you get a whopping 25MB of data to start. Twenty-five whole megabytes!

The app will present you with offers that range from filling out a survey, to watching an ad, to buying something at a particular retailer. You'll see how many steps each offer requires and about how long it will take to have the transaction approved. This isn't necessarily a bad idea as the data you earn can be used for anything rather than one service or another, and you're stuck on a capped plan anyway.

The main problem is that it looks like you're not getting very much data in this deal. Most of the offers are 25 or 50MB, and the larger ones require you to buy or subscribe to something. All the data you earn can be saved up in the app (maximum 1000MB), then loaded into your account when you want. However, this data will expire at the end of your billing cycle. It might save you some overages with strategic use, though.

I'm glad I live in an area with strong T-Mobile coverage. Between the uncapped data, the unlocked bootloaders, and the Jump plans they offer I can't imagine why anyone would even consider anything else.

TouchMyBox

Sounds like a real crock of shit to me.

Myrddin Emrys

Crap plan. A gigabyte of 4G data costs AT&T under a dollar. Even if it cost them what they charge users ($10) that's still paying users crap compared to what other sites (that just give you cash) provide.

Google pays $0.10 to $0.50 to take 1 minute to fill out surveys. The tasks AT&T is asking for are a lot more time consuming, and cause you to get a ton of spam afterwards because you have to give your email address to all these places.

Bullshit.

Mgamerz

Google uses those surveys to sell you more targetted ads, which is good for them. I don't think AT&T can use their data in such a fashion (or at least, in such a profitable way). Still a crappy deal imo.

unhappybirthday

Wonder how much data you would USE (i.e. watch a video ad) just to earn 25 MB of data.

Interesting. I don't think it's right that it expires though, especially that it expires at the end of your billing cycle. It would be nice if you could keep it for a year or so, because you know AT&T is getting paid to convince their customers to participate in these activities.

ddpacino

Shoot. Just a few months ago they doubled my 6GB to 12. I'm good lol

Corey Watford

They bumped mine from 10gbs to 15gbs :)

davidofmidnight

Gamification gone bad.

Gregory

Just curious: does ANY carrier in the US have an unlimited data plan? If so, how much does that cost?

79stanger

T-Mobile is $80 a month and Sprint is $70 a month. Both have unlimited talk, text, and data.

Evan Anderson

The caveat being both have worse coverage than Verizon/AT&T who don't have unlimited data.

Gregory

Is the coverage really that much of an issue? I mean, is it even possible that in certain areas you get no service at all? Here in Russia, AFAIK, nobody chooses a carrier based on that and everyone expects at least 2G to be everywhere...

When I've been to the US, I got T-Mobile prepaid and didn't have any issues with coverage but I haven't been much outside large cities.

brandon johnson

I live about 1.5 hours outside of Atlanta, GA, near Athens. In Athens, on T-Mobile, no issue with signal, LTE everywhere. but as soon as i get out in rural Georgia, there are a few places where nobody gets signal. ATT, Verizon, T-mobile, doesn't matter. granted i don't go there often, but there are some that still exist

catalysto

It's generally accepted that T-Mobile is aces in urban areas but falters in rural areas. They have improved quite a bit though in recent years. Especially on the west coast, T-Mobile is quite good -- even, dare I say, comparable to AT&T. Though of course, nobody beats Verizon in that department.

Edward Bernays

Where I live, T-Mobile has great coverage, city-wide. I have a work assigned AT&T device and the difference in speed/coverage is negligible.

"Data rates may apply to app download and use."
Are these people high? You can use your data to download and use this app to earn tiny amounts more data? It would be one thing if this app and its content didn't count against your data... but wtf?

Bruce Wayne

I can't believe this is what mobile data has come to. I remember the days of using my G1 and the sweet unlimited data.

Smh. It's like the texting days all over again and the exorbitant charging.

All the data you earn can be saved up in the app (maximum 1000MB), then loaded into your account when you want. However, this data will expire at the end of your billing cycle.

1.) Is the 1,000MB (1GB) the max that I can load into my account for any one cycle? Or just the most the app's "vault" can store at any particular moment? If I earn my 1GB of free data and it's still early enough, could I dump it into my account & start working on a second 1GB?

2.) AT&T uses monthly billing cycles doesn't it? So basically any data I earn in October will have to be applied to my October cycle, or be forfeited. So why bother creating a vault to store the data in at all? Why not just automatically apply it to the account directly? If I use it, I use it, if I don't it's gone anyway. Not like I'd be able to stock pile October & November's data in the vault so I'd have an extra gig to use for the extended Holiday stay at Grandma's non-WiFi'd house in December...

3.) I'm wondering what the average monthly pay out is going to be... If your just getting like 60-80MB, it might not be worth it. 2GB + 80MB might as well just be 2GB it's only going to net you an extra half hour or so of Spotify. But if you go over more in the neighborhood of 500MB over... Even with an extra 80MB, you'd still be 420MB over, more than enough for AT&T to charge you $10 for the extra gig...

This is just insulting. AT&T sucks. If T-Mobile had better coverage in my area, I'd switch in a heartbeat. I just love how AT&T gives my partner and I a $30 per month discount on our bill as long as we don't upgrade our phones. They're really doing their best to drive away customers.